The Burnside "Squaredrop" Is an American Camper Designed for Spacious Off-Grid Living

Folks, the camper before us today is designed and built by Aero Teardrops (AT), an American crew from Portland, Oregon. While AT has only been around since 2015 and is known for RVs like the Steel and Sellwood, they've decided to add another machine to their stock, the Burnside, also known as a "squaredrop." Clearly, you can see why they call it that.

Now, the Steel used to be the camper that was considered this crew's most affordable, but since the Burnside stepped in, it's replaced the Steel for that title, and you only need $15,000 (€14,800 at current exchange rates) to become a part of the AT family. Time to see what's in store for the adventurers among us.

One simple way to do so is to take you on a brief journey through our imagination: pretend you just bought the Burnside and are now sitting in the driveway with it hitched up behind your truck, ready for one hell of an extended weekend. With a dry weight of 1,250 pounds (567 kilograms), your truck won't need to tap into all its torque to get to wherever you want. Speaking of going, steel wheels are set on a 3,500-pound (1,587-kilogram) Timbren suspension, covered with Jeep-style fenders, and supporting this camper's steel chassis and aluminum shell afloat.

After driving for a few hours, you finally arrive at your destination. It's a beautiful open clearing, and even though you hear the sounds of other people, it's your friends waiting for your arrival. Since everyone else already has their campers unfurled and ready for living, you take the next 15 minutes to do the same.

It's also here that you start to notice how this camper differs from others of this style. Because of that square shape, the space where you'd typically find a galley looks more like a storage cabinet, and you'll no longer have the coverage that classic teardrop hatches provided; the "squaredrop" has laterally swinging doors. Another aspect is that things will typically need to be set up on slide-outs to be easily accessible, which always costs a tad more. How much more? After running through the configurator, I was looking at a Burnside with a complete galley and a roof rack for around $17,500 (€17,200).

Obviously, if you're the sort of camper that wants solar power, awnings, rooftop tents, and running hot water, you'll need to dive even deeper into those pockets. Nonetheless, by the time you're done meeting your needs, you'll have a mobile cave suitable for extended weekends or longer periods of time. It all depends on how much you like washing clothes by hand and using a porta-potty.

After you and the gang are all fed and have had a sit around the fire, it's time for bed. To head inside, you'll be able to access one of two lateral doors that lead into a living space. Again, there's also a tad more headroom than a typical teardrop, a result of the shell's shape. With a few lights, shelves, and a modular mattress, you can consider yourself at home, but take the time to make it yours by hanging knick-knacks and little bedazzles. Personally, I'd add that optional skylight and enjoy the star-filled night skies.

Whatever you do from here is in your hands; maybe you pick up the phone and call Aero Teardrop, or you simply push the Burnside camper aside. Whatever you choose, it helps to know what's out there and possible with as little as $15K and some American elbow grease.